


A Difficult Birth

by zombiefishgirl



Series: Of Ardour and Adoration [40]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Blood, Blood Magic, Childbirth, F/M, Happy Ending, Some angst, blood for healing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-08
Updated: 2015-10-08
Packaged: 2018-04-25 11:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4958839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zombiefishgirl/pseuds/zombiefishgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things take a turn for the worse during the birth of Cullen and Sarita's third child.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Difficult Birth

**Author's Note:**

> Short note that this story contains depictions of childbirth and mentions of blood. I was also partly inspired by some wonderful meta I read about the ways blood magic could be used for healing.

Lily’s birth was difficult to say the least. Both previous pregnancies had gone smoothly and although the delivery was painful due to how slight Sarita was as an elf delivering a human baby but she had managed but with Lily each month she seemed to grow weaker and more ill. By the last month or two she was essentially bed ridden, a situation that made her, normally so active, even more irritable and stressed. Mira and Soren had taken to curling up in bed with their mamae, when she had the strength she would read to them or brush Mira’s hair. Scout, the mabari hound lay at the foot of the bed warming her feet and prepared to fetch Cullen at the slightest sign of distress.

Every night Cullen held her, rubbing along her back and praying that she would survive this, that he would not lose her. During the day he put on a brave face, making sure the children were fed, clothed and entertained. Taking time to joke and tease Sarita to take her mind off of things. He told himself that it would be all right, that she was strong, she was more than capable. Still it was not a surprise when he woke up and the sheets were soaked in blood.

Panic washed over him, torn between running out to fetch a healer and not wanting to leave her side. In the end Scout had practically broken down the door and ran to fetch the local midwife and her assistant. The two women exchanged a grim look when they saw how pale she was and all of the blood. One of them, he did not take much note of which, tried to usher him from the room but he refused to budge. If the worst was to happen he would never forgive himself if he was not at her side. So many times she had let him lean on her strength and her faith in him, now it was his turn.

He slid in behind her, letting her lean against him, talking to her all the while about all the wonderful things their child would see and do. During the previous births she had gripped his hand so hard he thought she might crack the bones but this time…this time she was just so weak. He brushed her hair back, kissing her cheek, trying to keep her awake. She whispered something that might have been his name before she slipped into unconsciousness.

He was sure in that moment that he would lose her forever. He felt the tears begin to streak down his cheeks as he desperately and hoarsely whispered her name. The door flung open then, an elven woman whose delicate features were lined with age, her dark hair greying slightly but her green eyes buring fiercely. Sarita’s grandmother had arrived, when she had heard of the difficult pregnancy she had written that the clan would be travelling nearby, she must have ridden on ahead.

He saw her pause for one heartbeat as she took in the bloody scene before her before she visibly steeled herself and pushed the human healers aside, ordering them with an easy authority to light more candles and to fetch fresh sheets and water. She crouched down, examining her Granddaughter. “Oh my poor Da'Len…”

“Can you do anything? Can you save her?”

She paused, looked up at him and then at the healers. She dismissed them to go and check in on Mira and Soren. “There is something I can do but I do not think you will like it…”

“Whatever it is…please…I can not lose her…”

“It is just..I know that you were a templar but the way shemlen see magic and the way we do is quite different. Tell me Cullen, what has Sarita told you of blood magic?”

There was a moment of old and buried panic then. His mind screaming out no as memories of the circles flashed before him. Then he remembered Sarita and Dorian discussing Blood Magic once, how it could be abused so horribly but that when done just a little, in extreme cases could be used for healing, to lend the wounded party some of the strength of the other. How both had agreed to his mild disapproval that so long as only a little was used and that everyone had consented that this could be a good thing. They had laughed at his silly Fereldan beliefs but after Sarita had assured him that she had seen it used for healing to no ill effect while with her clan. That it was a tool, no more inherently evil than his sword.

He thought all this and he looked down again at Sarita, his wife, the mother of his children. The woman who had sat up with him soothing countless nightmares away from him. The woman who saw something good and noble in his heart. Who always greeted him with a smile and had saved the world. The woman he loved more than anything who was slipping away in a pool of her own blood as she struggled to bring his child into the world.

He gulped and pushed an arm forward. “Take as much as you need to heal her.”

Deshanna’s face softened slightly, “A noble sentiment but not necessary.” In a flash she pulled her blade and made a small slice on her own arm. There was a soft reddish glow flowing between the two women. He felt the mana in the air and then miraculously Sarita began to stir. Her cheeks began to flush and she sat up a little further, a little dazed and confused but stronger, gripping his hand as a contraction overtook her. Deshanna quickly wrapped a strip of cloth around her arm before sliding a clean sheet up between Sarita’s legs. The blood had stopped.

“Mamae?” Sarita looked confused at her grandmother.

“Hush Da'Len, there will be time to talk later right now you need to push.”

Two hours later, to his relief and the human healers confusion, Sarita was sitting up against a pile of pillows. A little weak, still paler than usual but alive and well, their youngest child cradled in her arms. The baby crying out loudly enough to wake the household if they had all not been up already, gloriously alive and healthy.

Deshanna assured him that all was well now with Sarita and the new baby and she went off to sleep in the garden having never quite gotten used to the beds in any of the guest rooms. Cullen ushered in a sleepy Mira and Soren who were both eager to see their Mamae and new little sibling. Mira curled up against her left side by the stump of her arm while Soren rested his head on her knee. Cullen smiled fondly and with great relief as she introduced them to their new baby sister before joining his perfect family on their bed.


End file.
